PENNSYLVANIA
Daily Times
By Christine Flowers, Delaware County Daily Times
POSTED: 11/26/16
When the priest-abuse scandal became widely publicized about a decade or so ago, Catholics around the world began to denounce in the most passionate terms the literal breach of faith that had occurred in our church. There were denunciations from Catholic journalists, politicians, businesspeople, actors, artists, and the rank-and-file parishioner who walked away from the pews or demanded accountability from our bishops. And still, this was not enough for some. I wrote a number of articles critical of the church while, at the same time, making some demands of my own. I talked about the need for due process for accused priests, of a mandate of fairness when writing about those who had been labeled pedophiles for crimes that allegedly occurred decades ago, of the hypocrisy of those who turned a blind eye to the evil propensities of public school coaches and clerics of other faiths.
Balance in all things, as Aristotle would say.
It’s important for people of a particular group that has members accused of pernicious acts to stand up and disown them. If we don’t, we become complicit in those alleged crimes by the heavy weight of our silence. No Catholic can deny that sexual abuse occurred, and that it was widespread in certain cities and countries. No Catholic, however, should be forced to assume a communal burden of guilt for those aberrations.
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